As the Manchester City career of Sergio Aguero dwindled down in recent seasons, the club was reported to have had their eye on a list of potential successors for their all-time leading goal-scorer.
On that list was rising star Joao Felix, who joined La Liga giants Atletico Madrid from Portuguese side Benfica in the summer of 2019, for a groundbreaking reported fee of £113 million.
However, it was widely reported at the time that Manchester City were not far off from putting in an official bid for the Portuguese starlet, with the club keen on developing a natural successor to their legendary Argentine forward.
According to a report from Portuguese newspaper Record, the player's agent Jorge Mendes would have preferred his client João Félix to have joined Manchester City, as opposed to Atletico Madrid in 2019.
This is according to a 'leaked' conversation revealed by Record between the player's agent Mendes, and Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira:
"The best thing for João Félix is to move to Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola. It will be the most expensive transfer in the history of Portuguese football," Jorge Mendes is claimed to have said.
The report from Record goes on to state that the Benfica president 'insisted' on Jorge Mendes bringing an offer for Joao Felix worth in excess of €120 million - of which there was only one: from Atlético Madrid.
However, there was a clear willingness from City, with the report stating that a second offer was submitted just shy of the €120 million mark, which came from the Etihad Stadium and also allowed Benfica to keep the player for another season.
In the end, Felix joined the current Spanish Champions for the aforementioned fee, and has since largely failed to make his mark on Spanish football, largely due to Atletico boss Diego Simeone's lack of utilisation of the young forward.
While Manchester City appear set to head back into the market for a striker in the summer of 2022, reports out Spain suggest that Joao Felix will not be making any move away from Madrid for the time being.
To compound that, most rumours involving the Etihad outfit point towards the club's interest in Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland, with the Norwegian striker expected to leave the Bundesliga via the activation of his release clause.
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